


Find the Lady

by Rheanna



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-31
Updated: 2008-03-31
Packaged: 2017-10-05 08:26:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rheanna/pseuds/Rheanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A good conman will always let you win the first game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Find the Lady

If Jack had a motto -- which he doesn't, but if he did -- it would be: _You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, and if you've got looks and charm and balls of steel, you might just be able to get away with fooling all of the people all of the time._

His hands move easily, almost lazily, as he slides the three playing cards around on the smooth TARDIS floor. When he's finished, and they are lined up in a row again, he grins at Rose. "Now can you tell me where the queen is?"

She grins back, and makes a show of deliberating between them. Then she taps the middle card. "There."

Jack flips it over, and Rose claps her hands together, pleased with her success. "Very good," he tells her.

From the console, the Doctor says, "Be careful, Rose. A good conman will always let you win the first game."

Jack glances up, not sure if that's a compliment or an insult. He hasn't been traveling with the Doctor and Rose for long -- a few weeks subjective time, at most -- and while Rose is as easy to read as she is enchanting, Jack still can't decide whether the Doctor wants him here or is tolerating his presence because she likes him.

He leans back and smiles, because if you decide something is a compliment, well, it is. "Thank you, Doctor. Care to try your luck?"

The Doctor looks up, his manner suddenly bright. "Actually, I think I will," he announces, striding over and hunkering down beside them.

Jack turns over the three cards: the queen of hearts and, of course, two jacks. Then he flips them over and shuffles them around, his hands moving faster and faster until his motions are a blur.

He sits back, satisfied. "There you go, Doctor. Find the lady."

The Doctor frowns. He sits back on his heels. "Tricky," he says.

Jack waits.

The Doctor puts his hand on his chin, one long finger curving up his cheek. "Very tricky."

Jack starts to feel a little bit smug.

"The problem is," the Doctor goes on, "she's not there anymore."

Then he reaches down and quickly flips over all three cards. Jack stares at them in disbelief. The queen and the two jacks are gone: he's looking at three aces.

"I think she must've got bored and popped down the shops," the Doctor says.

Rose laughs in delight. "That's brilliant! How did you do that?"

The Doctor answers her, but he doesn't take his eyes off Jack as he speaks. "Oh, nothing special. Just a little bit of localized temporal manipulation, a little bit of playing with the possibilities."

If Jack had a motto -- which he doesn't, but if he did -- he would right now be changing it.

_You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but don't ever try to fool the man who can fool time itself._


End file.
